According to officer Standifer, Martinez’s vehicle had a “busted taillight,” and he wrote a citation for that offense. When he went to check on their background information, he noticed that Ms. Turner had a warrant in Collegedale. At that point, he began to search the vehicle. The officer found a handgun under Octavia Shaw’s seat

As officer Standifer searched the vehicle, Martinez was allowed to cross the street with Octavia Shaw so she could sit in the shade of a tree, rather than in the hot car on a 90-degree day. The circumstances around this event were the subject of much discussion within the courtroom.

Ms. Turner had called Octavia Shaw’s mother, Ava Cole, and she was on her way to pick up her daughter. According to Ms. Cole, she believed Martinez’s disappearance was due to a miscommunication. Martinez did not know that Ms. Cole was on her way when he left with Octavia Shaw.

Martinez even claimed in an earlier interview that he was told several times that he was “free to go.”

At some point during the search and Ms. Turner’s arrest, Martinez got out of sight of police. A corporal who was back up for the stop, had been briefly distracted by a question by Ms. Turner, and Martinez left the premises during this time.

By the time Ms. Cole arrived, Martinez was already gone, and police asked her if she wanted to press kidnapping charges and send out an Amber Alert. Ms. Cole said she was told that the only way the police would send out a search for her daughter was if she pressed kidnapping charges.

Ms. Cole and Ms. Turner both stressed the close relationship that Octavia Shaw and Martinez had. Both stated that Octavia Shaw had stayed with Ms. Turner and Martinez many times before that day, and that Octavia Shaw had been staying with the two of them for several days before the arrest.

Ms. Cole even said that Octavia Shaw consistently referred to Martinez as “Papa,” and that everyone considers him to be family.

Ms. Turner said she and Martinez had been dating for around 10 months before the incident, and that until the arrest, Ms. Cole also lived with them. With Martinez’s whereabouts unknown and an Amber Alert sent out, a massive search began. Fourteen hours after the search’s beginning, officers located Martinez a mile away at Boy Scout Road at seven in the morning the next day.

Deputy Christopher Walker, who helped make the arrest, described Octavia Shaw as “visibly screaming and crying.” He also noted that Martinez was very belligerent to the point where he was resisting arrest.

“All he kept telling me was, 'I’m walking with my granddaughter,’ ” said officer Walker, who also said Martinez kept repeating that he believed he had been free to go earlier the previous day.

Octavia Shaw, who was then sent to a hospital, was in rough condition. According to investigator Patrick Miller, “The child had sticks and debris in her hair, red rashes on her face and body, and five ticks were removed from her body." She quickly consumed a lot of food for a two-year old, he said.

The investigator had photo evidence of the child and her clothing both before and after the incident.

After Octavia Shaw was found, her mother was not immediately notified, it was stated. Ms. Cole later discovered that her right to custody over her child was possibly being taken away, something Ms. Cole is fighting.

Because Martinez was found near a heavily wooded area, it was surmised that he and the young child had spent the previous night in the woods near the road.

According to Martinez, he and Octavia Shaw had walked around the street, visited a restaurant, and gotten a ride from a friend.

Martinez’s attorney disputed the kidnapping charge, making the point that Martinez did not mean to cause Octavia Shaw any harm, as he had a nearly paternal relationship with her, and stated she believed it was a misunderstanding.

The prosecutor countered by stating that Martinez was so keen to leave that he had run out of his shoes (Martinez’ shoe had been found close to the traffic stop), and that they most likely spent the night in the woods.

The defense attorney also challenged the charge of child neglect by bringing up a litany of cases where children were forced to live in inhumane conditions for prolonged periods. The attorney believed it might match the lesser charge of attempt neglect.

The prosecutor countered by stating being out in the woods produced negative health effects.

Judge Statom dismissed both arguments by the defense, and also dismissed any and all testimony made by Patricia Turner. Judge Statom said she believed that if a person has meth in the car and a handgun under a child’s seat, their judgment cannot be trusted.

The judge said, “This is not (a) grandfather of the year,” as she stared at the defendant, “This is someone who did not want to be caught….I find there is probable cause for this case to be bound over to the Grand Jury.”

September 15, 2019

Latest Hamilton County Arrest Report

September 14, 2019

Water Distribution Site Locations Set For Sunday

September 14, 2019

Change In Water Distribution Site Locations Made To Accommodate Neighborhoods With Greater Need

The City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Fire and Police Departments continue to provide services, alongside our county and regional partners and Tennessee American Water, to those without water. ... (click for more)

As some neighborhoods in Chattanooga’s lower elevations continue to regain adequate water pressure, the Chattanooga Police Department and the Youth & Family Development Centers will be reallocating ... (click for more)

The City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Fire and Police Departments continue to provide services, alongside our county and regional partners and Tennessee American Water, to those without water.
Additionally, partners at Tri-State Mutual Aid Association continue to provide fire suppression for Hamilton County until water is returned to those residences.
While pressure maps ... (click for more)

Our nation was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001 and our world changed. Muslim terrorists called al-Qaeda, with training camps all around the world were responsible for the death of the more than 3,000 victims. This is an enemy unlike any we have ever faced. There are multiple countries, multiple fronts and multiple threats.
This enemy is committed to the absolute destruction of the ... (click for more)

It was in the late ‘80s, not long before Auburn and Tennessee would play early in the year to set the early pace in the annual SEC race. I needed Auburn football coach Pat Dye to help me understand the early-season strategy of what the loser of the game between Tennessee and Auburn would need to do to stay viable in the home stretch of SEC play that year; it affected bowl invitations ... (click for more)

The Chattanooga Mocs made the short trip up I-75 falling 45-0 at Tennessee. The Vols took advantage of early struggles to put the game away early.
A big return on the opening kickoff set Tennessee up with a short field. It took six plays to go 41 yards with the initial tally coming on a 13-yard Ty Chandler run. The next score came less than two minutes later with Brandon Johnson ... (click for more)

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Niklas Gerdes led the Mocs men’s tennis team on the second day of the Chattanooga Collegiate Clay Court Championships at Manker Patten. The Geestland, Germany, native advanced to the finals of the doubles draw and the singles semifinals with wins today.
Gerdes started the morning session with a 6-0 doubles win with sophomore Tomas ... (click for more)